


Tomorrow Never Dies

by Senor_Sparklefingers, steelneena



Series: CR 2 Oneshots and Short Series [13]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Caleb and Molly are hiding things from one another, Codenames, Love Confessions, M/M, Oneshot?, PWP, Secret Identities, Very Enthusiastic Consent, also we hate bond, and yes Molly is bond, but they're in love, handjobs, only the music is good, picking up in the middle of a story, porn with a little plot, sex without knowing one another's real names, spies au, star crossed lovers, the james bond au that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:47:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18751162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senor_Sparklefingers/pseuds/Senor_Sparklefingers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/steelneena/pseuds/steelneena
Summary: Agent Mollymauk Tealeaf doesn't want to pretend anymore and Agent Caleb Widogast is burdened by the knowledge of what he has to do come morning.One night can change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

__It's so deadly my dear  
The power of having you near  
Until that day  
Until the world falls away  
Until you say there'll be no more goodbyes  
I see it in your eyes  
Tomorrow never dies

* * *

 

Caleb was laying on his stomach, sated and comfortable, his muscles lax, as sweat dried on his skin and Lucien's spend still trickled a little down the inside of his thigh. It sent a thrilling pulse to his abdomen and he shifted under the cover of the silk sheets, feeling particularly luxurious. The sheet rode down a little on his hips as he moved, and the mattress shifted but he kept his eyes closed, even as he felt the ghosting tingle of Lucien's fingers as they trailed down the line of his spine. 

"Mmm. Are you not satisfied, Mister Nonagon?"

"Hmmm... _ very _ satisfied, darling," Mollymauk said, laying a soft kiss to the back of Bren's neck before going quiet. 

This...was almost perfect. Almost. Not for the first time, particularly since meeting Bren, Molly had thought about his life, his job. How hard it was to fall in love when your acquaintances always called you by a false name.

And he was falling in love, wasn't he? That was the problem. Bren was starting to mean more to him than the mission, than discovering how deep the tendrils of the Cerberus Corporation went into the government. 

He sighed quietly, fingers gently trailing the line of Bren's spine, watching as goosebumps spread in his wake.

Lucien's voice trailed into Caleb’s ear like honey, but his silence sparked something in him that he wasn't sure how to handle. After all, it wasn't like what they were doing was _ love _ . It was the job. And Lucien was the mark. But he felt good. Cared for even, which was anything but what he'd expected, especially from an agent with Lucien’s reputation. No, the other spy had been all too doting. In fact, it was some of the best sex Caleb had ever had, touched like he was made of glass and handled like a precious gem. He didn’t trust it. Couldn’t.

Lucien continued to trace his fingers over Caleb's bare back and he shivered, though not just from the cooling droplets of moisture. 

"What are you thinking, liebchen?" he asked, trying to sound sultry.

"Do you ever wonder if you're in the right line of work? All the lies and secrets, and using people...does it ever get to you?" Molly reluctantly pulled away from Bren, kissing his neck softly one last time, mourning the loss of closeness, the skin on skin contact. But he needed to see Bren's face.

He needed to know if his feelings ever had a chance of being returned.

Gingerly, Caleb rolled, feeling the perfect, deep ache in his muscles as he did. He’d feel it even more in the morning, and he’d relish it. 

Lucien was looking at him expectantly. Caleb sighed, feeling it harder to put on the show than ever. There was far too much truth in the tiefling's words. Laying on his back still, hair splayed bright copper across the pillow, he reached out a hand for Lucien's face, cupping his cheek. 

"You are not alone in this, Lucien. We are together now, ja?"

For a long time, Molly was quiet. If he did this...there was no going back. 

But he was so tired of it. The deception, the lies, the corruption and death. He enjoyed putting on a show, but it was so hard to keep going with this charade. 

"....Mollymauk."

" _ Was _ ? What?" Caleb's hand fell away in his confusion. He blinked and sat up, propping himself on his elbow and the sitting completely, the sheet pooling at his waist. "I am sorry, Lucien, I do not follow. What does a bird have to do with-"

"My name." Molly sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. No turning back now. "Lucien is my codename. My real name is Mollymauk. Molly to my friends. And...I just wanted you to know that."

Caleb felt his heart sink in his chest. Any lingering arousal faded completely as he stared dumbfounded at Luci - Mollymauk.

"I..." 

Only minutes ago, laving at Lucien's neck with his lips and tongue, Caleb had almost been able to imagine that it was real, that Lucien really loved him, that the sex was more than just physical. A ringing element of mistrust lingered.  _ He's just saying it to get to you, _ his brain whispered, but his heart ached.  _ He’s just saying it so that you will trust him and spill your secrets.  _ Wary, Caleb’s gaze hardened.

Molly sighed again, feeling as if a weight had oddly been lifted from his chest. He knew that the feelings he had were dangerous, and that he was walking a very fine line. There was no guaranteeing that Bren wouldn't use this to stab him in the back, after everything, but...it was time he learned to trust again.

"Do with that what you will. I just wanted you to know."

He closed his eyes and leaned back, not wanting to see Bren's reaction, see the eyes that had looked on him so fondly turn cold, hard, calculating.

"... I know what you are feeling." Caleb said, his voice saying one thing while his brain screamed another, his heart pounding at the look on Molly's face as he lay back. 

Tiredness. Resignation. 

All things he felt acutely himself. 

"Thank you...for trusting me with your name. Your identity is...a gift. An incredible gift." Deliberately, he reached out and placed his palm on the flat plane of Mollymauk's chest. "Mollymauk..."

"Bren..."Molly reached up, taking his hand, running his thumb across his palm. "I just....I shouldn't, I  _ know _ I shouldn't, but. I trust you. I care about you, and...it doesn't feel right, us being like this, without you know that."

The sound of his false name in combination with Molly's nearly romantic words was almost too much for Caleb to bear. "You shouldn't."

"I know." Molly shook his head. And yet, here they were. "I suppose, now that you know, you’ll have to arrange for you to have another contact, and I’ll have to scrub this codename." He sounded so sad, saying that. Logically, he knew it was necessary now that he'd blown his cover. And he couldn't regret telling Bren either way, because it felt  _ right _ , telling him his name. Hearing him say it made his chest ache, a warm feeling settling there.

He was getting too soft for this line of work.

Caleb tightened his grip on Molly's hand. "Nein, Mollymauk...bitte." His hand skated across Molly's torso and he leaned forward, pressing a kiss above his heart, lightly sucking a mark there. "The only one I want is you."  

Caleb didn't know anymore what was the lie and what was the truth. But it didn't matter.

"Bren..." Damn him and his weak heart.  Molly sighed, leaning down to kiss Bren's forehead softly, still holding his hand, squeezing it gently.

Their gazes aligned, and Caleb could see the sincerity in Mollymauk's eyes. But the tenderness was too much. He surged to meet Mollymauk capturing his lips in a fierce kiss, letting his hands wander over Molly's abdomen. 

"I  _ want _ you," he said again, this time his meaning was implicitly altered. He couldn't handle the talk, couldn't handle hearing the false name on Mollymauk's lips in conjunction with such soft words. 

_ You have a job to do, Widogast. _

"Take me, Mollymauk. Make me yours, again."

Molly chuckled softly, shaking his head. He was already lost, what more damage could he do?

"As you wish, darling," he said, voice low as he kissed him again, deeply and passionately, all of the love he felt for Bren burning through him. He pulled Bren close, running a hand through those fox-red locks, tugging slightly. 

"Tell me what you want," he breathed against Bren's lips. "Tell me what you  _ need _ ."

A sigh escaped Caleb at he felt Mollymauk's fingers tangle in his hair, felt his head bend back and the vulnerable flesh of his throat expose. He sucked in a sharp breath, muscles tensing.

"Make me forget my name," Caleb replied in that same breath, perhaps his first truly honest words of the night. "Make me forget my duty, forget our jobs. Make me forget that tomorrow we will have to pretend again. That we will be on opposite sides."

That, Molly could do.

"It would be my pleasure," he said before capturing Bren's lips again, quickly, before kissing down his jawline, tugging at his lover’s hair to expose more of his beautiful neck.

Tomorrow Molly would be Lucien, Agent Nonagon, once again. Suave and charming and completely dedicated to his cause. But he wouldn't let Bren forget this night. He would leave reminders, never let him forget that for a short time, they had something real. And so, as he nipped and sucked desperately at Bren's neck, hoping to leave a mark blooming on his pale skin, his tail wrapped around Bren’s ankle, squeezing slightly.

The graze of Mollymauk's sharp teeth on his neck left Caleb bucking against his lover, the hand in his hair holding him in place firmly, deliciously. Subconsciously, he let his hands go to Mollymauk's back, nails digging in a bit for purchase at his shoulder blades. 

"Gods, Mollymauk, oh  _ gods _ ."

Molly hissed at the small sharp pangs of pain as he felt Bren's nails dig into his shoulders. Those would leave reciprocal marks, and he welcomed it. His free hand, the one not occupied by holding his lover in place, moved to stroke Bren's chest, nails scraping against already sensitive skin.

Caleb's eyes fluttered shut as Molly's hand drifted lower between them, tickling through the fine reddish hair on his chest and stomach until he was playing with the edge of the sheet, still precariously clinging to Caleb's heated flesh. Reactively, he pressed himself as flush against Molly as he could, searching for the bliss of contact.

Molly couldn't help but chuckle against Bren's skin, the way the other man writhed against him, begging silently to be touched. It was endearing, it was sexy, and how could Molly say no to him?

(That was the problem. He couldn't, and he wasn't sure he ever would be able to.)

His hand dropped down under the sheet, fingers running along the edge of Bren's thigh, feather light and teasing.

"You are a tease, Mister - ah - Mollymauk, " Caleb managed to say, even as Molly's fingers just brushed against his cock momentarily. "I hear you are th-the best in the business. Show me you can live up to your reputation."

"Well, if it takes a second time to convince you," Molly said, moving to kiss at Bren's chest just as his fingers brushed against his lover’s cock once more, lingering for a moment, "then I must not have done a very good job...allow me to rectify that situation."

"This time, I will not be so l-lost to passion that I cannot critique you, Schatz,” Caleb bit out through gasping breaths. 

But he was lying. It was what he did best after all. Lie to others. Lie to himself. Moment by moment, Caleb lost himself further to the lie, that he was with Mollymauk, that Mollymauk loved him, that he could love him in return. That the next day he wouldn't put a gun to Molly's head and order him to betray his country. 

He pushed it all down and away, and then shifted so that he was seated fully in Mollymauk's lap and squeezed his knees against the tiefling's hips, hard. 

"Oh, but Bren...you're still too coherent! I haven't done my job yet!" Molly rolled his hips against him, as if to emphasize his point. 

"I will know you are the best when you make me forget that I'm supposed to critique you, ja?” Caleb retorted harshly. “Now,  _ fuck me _ ."

Molly leaned in close, nipping at Bren's earlobe while whispering softly, hand slowly stroking him. "I am going to make you forget  _ everything _ . Your name, your mission...everything but the feeling of me inside you, until all you can do is  _ beg _ ."

False bravado rapidly fell away. Caleb didn't care. He'd already beg if it got him what he wanted.

" _ Göttern, bitte _ ," he breathed. " _ Bitte _ , fick mich, Mollymauk,  _ bitte. _ " Each nimble touch was heavenly and unholy all at once, and each promise the fleeting hope of a new life made real, if only for a time. Involuntarily, his hips locking up as Mollymauk's deft fingers ghosted over the head of his cock, pressure increasing and then receding within Mollymauk's grip.

"Gods, you're so beautiful..." Molly's smile turned soft and fond as he tilted Bren's chin, leaning up to kiss him slowly and tenderly. " _ I think I may be a little in love with you, Bren _ ," he said softly in Infernal, watching the way the other man shivered at the sound. " _ I would be happy to sacrifice my career for you. _ "

Before he could let Bren's clever mind figure out what he'd said, he gripped his cock a little harder and began to stroke him with more force, still tender but beginning to border on desperate.

Caleb's immediate retort was cut off into a strangled whimper and he let his forehead fall onto Mollymauk's shoulder, weak from the intensity of it all. 

And then, just when he was starting to buck frenetically into Mollymauk's hand, the pressure and sensation and touch ceased completely and he whined, grabbing at Mollymauk's arms for support. 

" _ Fick! _ " he swore. "Don't stop."

"Oh, darling, I wasn't planning to. Just pausing." Molly smiled, pecking him quickly before pushing him back onto the bed gently, pinning his wrists over his head with one hand. "I said I was going to make you forget everything, didn't I?"

"Hnnn - ja. Ja... Mollymauk-" Caleb writhed against the air, seeking friction and finding none.

"Mmm?" Molly kissed down Bren's chest slowly, brushing his lips against his inner thigh before taking him into his mouth, winking up at him, his own cock aching with need. 

That was alright, though. He'd get his turn soon enough.

As the wet, dangerous heat of Mollymauk's mouth closed around his length, Caleb's eyes rolled back and his heart rate jumped. It was all he could do to keep from bucking up. Reaching blindly, Caleb wrapped his fingers around the wrought iron twining bars of the bed frame, holding himself in place as best as he was able. 

He thought about how beautiful Mollymauk was, how good, and caring. 

Words wouldn't come.

Molly wrapped his tongue around Bren's length, moving up and down slowly, humming against him. His free hand moved lower, brushing briefly against Bren's balls before rubbing gently against his entrance.

A thick pulse of pleasure coiled tightly in Caleb stomach and he let go of the headboard, hands searching for Mollymauk's silken curls. 

"Bitte,  _ bitte _ , Mollymauk-"

Molly pulled back slightly, letting Caleb grab his curls as he inserted a finger into him, finding him still loose and willing after their first tryst earlier. The intrusion was a welcome one, Caleb’s body adapting easily and he tried to shift so that Mollymauk would reach deeper, but a hand gripped his hip again, holding him in place.

"Not yet, love," Molly said, voice heavy with his own desire. "Soon, I promise. I want you ready."

_ Love. _ It was just a slang term. Nothing more. Like 'schatz' and 'liebling'. 

Caleb filed it away for later. 

(Later when he would betray Mollymauk...or was that still simply doing his job?) 

"I am ready now. I  _ am _ !"

"Are you? Hmm. I don't know..." Molly hummed to himself and added a second finger, moving them in and out slowly, watching Bren's reactions closely.

The first finger Caleb had hardly felt. Two was better. Two was at least pressure and presence. Two was the shifting movement inside him counterpart to his own embarrassingly wiggling hips. 

"Mmmol-" his breath hitched in the middle of Molly's name and his grip on his lovers hair tightened.

Molly hissed at the tightening of Bren's hand in his hair, moving faster as he debated whether or not to add a third finger.

But he wanted Bren.  _ Gods _ , he wanted him, wanted to see his face as he lost himself to the feeling of Molly inside him, wanted to see him flushed and moaning, wanted to capture his lips and see how he looked in the light of morning, how he felt when held close to Molly's chest, wanted--

No.

No, he couldn't think like that. Not when tomorrow would come and things would have to return to the way they were. Not when the man he loved could - and likely would - easily attempt to kill him when tomorrow came. 

Molly’s motions stilled and he just looked at Bren, an unreadable expression on his face. The abrupt halt in forward momentum wrestled a strangled groan from Bren who opened his eyes long enough to glance down at Mollymauk between his legs. 

The look he gave Bren was odd and Bren’s own expression mirrored his confusion. 

"S-something...wrong?"

Molly blinked once, brought back to reality, and he smiled, shaking his head

"No, nothing. Just...thinking, that's all."

He withdrew his fingers, repositioning himself so he could look down at Bren, stroking one cheek reverently before kissing him again, an apology for loving him, for complicating things. Permission to do what he needed to survive tomorrow. Forgiveness.

"If you do not want to do this..." Caleb hedged, arousal flagging, even as Molly pulled away from the simple press of lips. Something was off. Something was wrong. He felt a different sort of heat in his gut then, a nervous one that spoke of insecurities and uncertainties. 

Of the prospective tomorrows to come where he would use his hands as fists and not to caress, but to harm.

"I do," Molly said quietly. "I really do."

"Then, please..." Caleb paused, the words caught in his head, stopped by his unwilling lips. 

_ Fuck me _ he had said before. But Caleb didn't want that. Caleb wanted to forget. Caleb wanted the dream. 

"Please, Molly, make love to me."

"As you wish." Molly kissed the top of Bren's forehead before moving forward, slowly entering him, breathing heavily as the heat surrounded him.

Caleb hitched his ankles up and over Molly's legs, opening himself further and easing the slide, until Molly's hips met his ass. He didn't need as much time to adjust, still loose and pliant, but he pulled Molly down flush to him anyways, pressing their lips together softly, tenderly.

Molly kissed him back and allowed himself to be lost in the feeling of his lover, rocking his hip slowly.

Unlike their first coupling, which had been hot, and quick, and passionate, the second time had a different quality to it, and Caleb closed his eyes, indulging in the gentle murmur of pet names against his skin. He wasn't Bren and he didn't have to be Caleb. 

He was only Molly’s.

Molly's movements were slow, deliberate, and somehow almost seemed tailormade to make this last. He made love to Caleb carefully, tracing his fingers along his chest, muttering sweet nothings against his skin.

"Love me," Caleb sighed in his bliss. "Love me, if only for tonight. Love me, Mollymauk."

"I do,” Molly breathed, almost unthinking. "Gods help me, I do."

It wasn't passionate, or fiery or fast. It wasn't anything like what Caleb thought he'd wanted. The sincerity of Molly's words, the slow, rocking pace, which reached deep inside him, rhythmic dragging against nerve endings with impossible accuracy, and all the terrible thoughts he kept trying to push from his mind coalesced and Caleb, clinging for dear life to Molly sucked in a breath and felt the first, slow hot roll of a tear down his cheek.

Molly heard the cadence of Bren's breathing change, and he slowed down, not pulling out or away, but merely looking at him.

"Darling, what's wrong?" He moved to wipe away a tear rolling down his face, smiling a little. "I know it's not quite what you wanted, but I didn't think it was that bad," he joked.

"I do not want to kill you tomorrow."

Ah. 

"I don't want to be killed," Molly admitted. "And I also don't want you punished or worse for failing to complete a mission." That was going to be a problem. His death… As much as Molly would like to avoid it, he knew one day he'd slip up, do something stupid, and end up dead. The falling in love part, he hadn't expected, but in a way that almost made this easier. He'd be dying to keep his love safe.

(And wasn't that more important than king and country, in a way? Love?)

"Make it quick, at least. Maybe make it look like an accident, so my agency doesn't come after you immediately."

"You knew?" Caleb asked, ignoring the rest. Molly was stilled inside him, but all he could think about was the morning.

"I had my suspicions."

Caleb swallowed heavily and closed his eyes, unable to look at Molly. "I will do what must be done. And you will do what you must - I expect nothing less." When he opened them again, his mind was settled. "But for now, we are together. And we must make the most of it," he said, jolting his hips up off the bed. "Make love like we are alive, and not like we are dead. Make love to me, because this is all we will have."

"That? That I can do."And with that, Molly snapped his hips back, kissing Bren desperately, his mind made up. 

(Death wasn't such a terrible thing, was it?)

They met one another, thrust for thrust, a quiet passion then, something between both extremes, sighing into one another mouths, grasping at arms and tangling fingers in hair, sharing love instead of just sex, a quiet desperate last plea that it might somehow be enough.

Molly was quiet, breathing heavily, listening to the noises Bren was making, memorizing each point of pleasure, the look on his face...

He was enraptured utterly. Caleb didn't dare to speak, for fear of breaking the fragile thing between them, shattering the illusion. The intensity and devotion clear on Molly's face pushed him closer and closer to the edge and Molly thrust into him at a steady pace, deep and forceful, despite the tenderness behind them. Almost to the point where it was a struggle to keep up, the burn in Caleb's muscles and the intensity of Molly inside him kept him from falling completely under.

Molly allowed himself to get lost in the feeling of Bren, in the love he felt, the knowledge and acceptance that yes, he loved this man, and yes, he was willing to die to keep him alive and safe. At the knowledge that this could be the end of it all.

“Are you close?" He whispered huskily, kissing below Bren’s earlobe, speeding up his movements.

A particularly deep thrust hit Caleb's prostate and he keened by way of response, clinging tighter. "Ja, ja..."

Molly went after that spot again, relishing in the noises Bren made. "Gods,  _ Bren _ ..."

"Nei-" Caleb couldn't finish the objection, spilling without warning onto his stomach between them as the sharp pleasure overcame him.

The feeling of Bren clenching around him and the sight of him losing himself was enough to send Molly over, coming with a groan as he buried his face in the crook of Bren's neck.

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut and held Molly close, glad that he was so lost in his own pleasure that he didn't have a chance to see the devastation Caleb was sure was visible on his face.

Molly held him back tightly as he rode the wave of pleasure, and as he started to come down, he quickly began to form a plan. He could save Bren, keep his hands clean and have him complete his mission, get him out from under Ikithon's thumb. He'd still die, but on his terms, and if it kept Bren safe then it would be worth it. He held Bren silently, afraid that if he saw his lover’s face, he'd break and lose the resolve he needed to go through with this.

As the aftershocks shuddered through him, his muscles contracting, Caleb kept his hand in Molly's hair hiding the new tears that joined the old, dried tracks. Tomorrow...it would be what it would be. He would hold that gun to Molly's head if he had to, he would coerce him into commiting treason, and then, when it was over...

He didn't know anymore. A vision flooded his mind of putting that gun to Ikithon's head, but his nerves roiled in his stomach and he only held Molly tighter.

"I have a plan," Molly said softly into Bren's neck. "It'll keep your hands clean, satisfy Ikithon and what he wants, and if you want out from under him, it should help grease some wheels."

Caleb kept his eyes shut tight, unshed tears burning behind his lids.

"Nein, you can't. I won't let you."

"You don't have a choice, darling. Ikithon won't be happy if I'm still alive, and I won't have him punishing you." Molly pulled back to look Bren in the eye, wiping away another of his tears. "It'll be okay, Bren. This is on my terms now."

Caleb looked past Mollymauk's intense stare, swallowing heavily. Sliding his hand down the side of mattress, Caleb's hand wrapped around his weapon. 

"You are wrong. It is on my terms, Mollymauk." 

"What-?" 

With a sharp crack, Caleb brought the butt of his gun down on the back of Molly's head.

Molly didn't have a chance to fight back, could barely utter a protest before pain bloomed in the back of his skull, his vision swam, and the darkness swallowed him.

 

Only when Mollymauk collapsed atop him, did Caleb find the strength to restrain his tears. He slid out from under Molly, who slipped free of him, leaving him empty, physically and elsewise. As he stood from the bed, he looked down at his lover's sprawled, unconscious form, a little blood trailing down behind his ear. 

Pulling out his phone, Caleb snapped a photo and quickly tapped out a message. 

 

_ It's finished. _

He quickly received a response. 

_ Well done. _

 

Molly didn't stir where he lay on the bed, unconscious and unaware. Caleb bent down and pushed Mollymauk's hair out of his face. The desire to kiss him was strong, but he resisted, instead moving to sit at the desk, where he quickly composed a note. 

When it was done, he lay it on the pillow next to Molly, and dressed. He watched Molly as he buttoned his white dress shirt, wrinkled from where it had long lain on the floor. He retied his bowtie, loaded and handled his gun, sliding it into the holster he wore beneath his coat, and all the while, never once strayed his gaze. 

"Goodbye, Mollymauk."

 

Molly groaned softly, stirring a little but not waking. By the time he regained consciousness, Bren was nowhere to be seen.

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. His fingers came away bloody. "Fuck." He looked around the room, trying to figure out what happened. All of Bren's things were gone, the rest of the room was undisturbed, and he had no idea how long he'd been out for. He saw the paper on the pillow out of the corner of his eye, and with shaky hands, he picked it up and began to read.

 

_ Mollymauk, _

_ Go home to your agency. The Cerberus Corporation will no longer be a problem.  _

_ Thank you, for making me forget my name. _

_ \- Caleb _

 

Molly read the note once. Twice. He blinked rapidly, folding the note back up before rubbing angrily at his eyes. 

"Caleb...," he breathed. Molly took a deep breath before standing up and gathering his things, a new mission forming in his mind.

Topple the Cerberus Corporation. Kill Ikithon. Rescue  _ Caleb  _ from himself. 

And maybe, if he was lucky, he'd be able to kiss him again with no lies between them. 

Committing Caleb's face to memory, his smile, his kiss, the way Molly's name sounded on his tongue, the mask of Lucien Nonagon, special agent of COLBALT, went back in place.

There was work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! You asked and we delivered. Enjoy!
> 
> ...
> 
> Mostly beta'd? We think?

The roads were deserted as Mollymauk practically flew down them, not even bothering to pretend to follow the rules or care about his personal safety as he sped towards the Cerberus Corporation. In his head, the last words he said to Bre—to _Caleb--_ played on repeat.

_”It’ll be okay, Bren. This is on my terms now.”_

_It’ll be okay._

What a crock of shit that turned out to be. In the hours (had it been hours? His head still ached; he had no idea how much time had passed, but it felt like forever) since his last encounter with Caleb, since the other man kissed him and knocked him out and ran off to do something stupid, the situation with Cerberus had turned explosive. Literally.

He didn’t know what exactly had happened. He didn’t know how many COBALT agents were still inside the main Cerberus building, or if Yasha had managed to evacuate them all. He didn’t know how much time he had before things went to hell...all he knew was that he had to find Caleb and get him out of there, fast.

When Beau had finally come crackling through his coms, she was practically screaming at him, and, considering that she usually was already at a decibel level consistent with yelling, that was a feat. _"-ucking BOMB. Do you hear me you useless asshole! Reports of a bomb planted at Cerberus, you have_ got _to get there_ yesterday _!"_

He'd wasted little time getting dressed, running to the car. He knew the drive to Cerberus by heart, shifting and accelerating around the other vehicles in his way, their horns blaring as he swerved for pedestrians, fishtailing the corners like a lunatic. He didn't care about them, didn't care about the fact that a siren had just kicked up behind him. He didn't have time for any of it. 

_Go home to your agency. The Cerberus Corporation will no longer be a problem._

He could hear the words, as readily as if from Caleb's lips, ringing in his head. He stamped on the gas, pushing the vehicle to its limits.

Let him get a ticket. Let him risk getting arrested or killed. It didn't matter. None of it would matter if he didn't get there in time and get Caleb out of that building.

Gods, how had he been so _stupid_ as to let him slip away like that? He should have realized that the other man had planned something like this, or at the very least that he was certainly capable of it.  All he needed was the right trigger...and Molly had certainly given him one.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself, the sound of sirens getting louder the closer he got to the Cerberus Corporation headquarters. "Stupid, Molly, _stupid_..."

There, up ahead, a police blockade. "Fucking crownsguard..." he ground his teeth and made a split second decision. The tires squealed as Molly wrenched the wheel hard to the right to make the turn into the nearby parking garage. He made is way up, floor by floor until he hit the roof, which he knew was directly across from the gated parking structure where the Cerberus employees parked. If he could just get up enough speed....

"C'mon..."

The gas pedal was pressed down to the floor; all he had to do was launch himself at just the right angle. Oh, and not kill himself in the process of absolutely destroying his car.

Beau could be mad at him for wrecking another company vehicle later. This was more important.

With a deep breath, he let himself take a leap of faith, launching the car and himself off the roof and propelling towards the Cerberus parking lot.

Halfway through the air, he grabbed the seatbelt and pressed himself back into the seat, ducking his head to shield his face as he was jolted rudely to the ground, the car crunching and screeching as the frame of the front end twisted and bent into an unrecognizable shape. It paused, still angled in the air before thumping hard to the ground. He muttered a prayer of thanks for moon roofs as he slid it back, pushing himself up and out, the doors completely smashed into a permanent closed state. The moment Molly dropped to the ground, he took off running, his heart thumping Caleb's name.

In the back of his mind he could _hear_ the tone of Caleb's voice in his head. The heartbreak and desperation at Molly's half-assed suicidal plan to keep him safe...the cold determination as he took on the persona of Bren once more.

Gods, if he got there too late...

The main entrance was blocked off and surrounded by crownsguard, but there was a side door next to the parking structure that led to the main Cerberus building. Getting inside was all he thought about as he rushed to the door,  through the hall, and up to the lobby, pushing past crowds of panicked and fleeing employees.

No one tried to stop him at first. They were little more than the suits, little more than hapless workers (perhaps some not so hapless, but also untested and untried for fieldwork). 

Molly tried his best to recall the briefing that Yasha had given on the building, on the locations of important rooms, twisting and turning his way through the winding corridors of the bullet shaped skyscraper towards the private elevator that he knew would provide access to the security room. Which meant, hopefully, that somewhere, on all the screens, he might be able to spot both the bomb _and_ Caleb. 

The nearer he grew, the emptier the halls became; he was no fool and he knew that somewhere, someone could see him and was ordering a contingent of guards after him, so he pulled his service weapon, holding it carefully at the ready, trigger finger steady.

All he could do was hope that the situation would be enough to provide him with cover. That the Cerberus agents and security were more focused on getting out and saving their own lives then they were with ending his.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Yasha was still inside, or if she'd gotten out safe. If she'd found the other COBALT plants and gotten them out, if she was the one who alerted Beau to the situation. He should feel guilty, he realized, for paying so little mind to the safety and well being of his dearest friend.

If they all got out of this alive, he could only hope she'd understand.

An echo in the corridor alerted him and he paused, sucking in his breath, readying himself. 

A pair of footsteps, even and soft. 

Guards. 

The soft tones of someone speaking. 

Molly steeled himself and stepped out from behind the wall, firing twice, but not before a bullet ricocheted off the wall behind him.

_Fuck._

Well, it wasn't like he went into this line of work because it was easy. He pressed back against the wall for cover, waiting to see if they'd take another shot. He waited for a beat. Two. 

Then, peeking his head around the wall, he quickly scanned the area where he'd heard the voices, wincing slightly at the body and blood he found. There had definitely been _two_ guards...

"Fuck," he muttered, running a hand through his hair and silently praying for forgiveness to the Moonweaver. The killing never got any easier.

Cautious of the potential for an ambush, he took a few tentative steps forward, watching from his peripheral vision for the depressed, shadowed indications of hallways or doors. A quick glance at the floor - polished white laminate - showed a few stray drops of blood. Keeping his gaze between the two in a floating sort of attention, he started forward again, weapon ready, still warm in his hands. 

Three feet down the hall.

Ten feet. 

Thirty. 

A soft, almost imperceptible sound, like a puff of air, and then, a gentle, gentle wheeze...

The other guard.

He waited, listening to the labored breathing of the person he'd injured and condemned to death. Had they known, truly _known_ what Cerberus was when they started working here? Were they just a regular guard, doing their job, blind to the corruption that leeched through this organization?

The other guard, the one he'd killed...did they have a family? Did they know? Were they just blindly doing their job?

He quietly shook his head. When he told Caleb he wasn't sure if he was in the right line of work...it hadn't been an act. Ever since meeting him as Bren, he'd started to question all the things he'd allowed himself to become blind to in this line of work. It wasn't enough anymore. It wore on him, left him aching just as much as a blow to the head did.

Weapon still in hand, finger near the trigger, he headed towards the sound, keeping to the walls and hiding in what little shadow there was.

The guard was there, leaning up against the wall, holding his gun weakly, wheezing and bleeding, his other hand holding his side. 

Molly looked at him and felt his gut sink. "Stand up," he ordered, voice even.

The guard glared at him, and Molly held his gun forward. "You want to get out of here alive? Then stand up."

There was a moment of hesitation before the guard, his grip on his weapon already weak, dropped the gun, nodding shortly as he struggled to stand up. Molly had to resist the urge to help the man to his feet.

"Take me to the main security room. I need to see all active surveillance footage."

The guard muttered under his breath but started moving, eyes on the gun at all times. It didn't take long before they were at the door to the elevator.

"Keycard?" Molly asked. Reluctantly, the guard handed it over.

"Now get out of here. The building's going to blow."

The guard looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Molly glared, gesturing down the hall. "Seriously, get out of here. You want to be here when this place blows sky high?"

The guard shook his head quickly and took the hint, heading down the hall and out of sight as fast as he could. The minute he was out of sight, Molly let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, slumping a bit as he wordless entered the elevator, his grip tight on the keycard in his hand.

It pinged shut behind him and the lights, as they were wont to do in the parts of building that the fancy folk never saw, flickered a little, the carriage shaking. Eventually, as he watched the digital number grow closer to its destination, he stilled his own shaking hand and lifted the weapon once more, positioning himself in the corner to the side of the door, opposite the buttons. They'd have to get close to see him and by then, well, he had to do what he had to do. 

_One last time._

If nothing else, after all of this was over...after Caleb was out of this hellhole and this place was nothing more than rubble...he was asking for a vacation. After all of this, he'd felt as if he'd earned it.

The elevator pinged. The doors slid open. And Mollymauk - no - Lucien Nonagon waited.

He saw the whirl of the security agent's chair before he heard them come clomping for the door, saw the wink of the gun's metal body in the harsh screen light.

_Kill or be killed._

Molly took the shot and the guard dropped to the floor hard. He peered into the room cautiously, checking each angle before stepping into a vulnerable position.

The room was surprisingly empty, and he wondered if that was due to the active bomb situation in the building. When faced with an explosive, watching the security cameras probably seemed like unimportant work, and anyone who was smart was already on their way out of the building.

He looked down at the dead guard, the person he'd just killed. Evidently, they'd either believed in Cerberus enough to stay behind and die for it, or they'd been very well paid.

_Focus, Molly. You need to find Caleb._

Stepping over the corpse, he took another step towards the monitors.

There were...too many of them, but he'd anticipated that and scanned each one as it flipped, quickly identifying the fifteen second delay between various views from various cameras around the building. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he hissed under his breath as he watched, rapt. Eventually a pattern started to appear and he followed it, up, up, up, as each floor of cameras cleared without hide nor hair of Caleb or the bomb. 

And then, he spied the nicest looking room interior he'd seen yet and in it, two shadowy figures. But even in blue lit greyscale, Molly would have known Caleb anywhere. And across from him was Ikithon.

"Fuck," he muttered, eyes transfixed on the soundless conversation unfolding on the CCTV in front of him. What floor was he on? How far away was he?

How long did they have before the bomb went off?

And then the fifteen seconds was past and the screen switched to another location. 

Keeping an eye on the screen that contained the glimpse of Caleb, Molly used the next thirty seconds to scan the rest for the bomb. But by the time Caleb was back on the screen again,, he'd still seen hide nor hair of it. Caleb was good, and Molly knew it; it stood to reason that it would be difficult to find. If it had been found, that would have meant the end of it. 

His attention shifted back to Caleb. Something had happened in those thirty seconds because now, both men were facing off. They'd moved, though Caleb was still visible enough that Molly could tell it was him. But both had their guns out, trained on eachother, some fierce, fast conversation passing between them. The screen changed. 

"Fuck!" Molly nearly shouted, his heart thundering in his chest. He didn't look away, waiting as the seconds ticked by entirely too slowly.

By  that point, he'd accepted that finding the bomb wasn't going to happen. Caleb wouldn't have put it in an easy to find spot...their best chance was just getting out of and away from the building, or getting to Caleb and having him divulge the location of the bomb.

He had no idea how much time was left. Those thirty seconds he spent waiting for the screen to change back felt like an eternity.

The first thing he saw was the barest haze of smoke on the screen. 

Ikithon wasn't visible anymore. And neither was Caleb, but there was the shadow of a body still on the floor. 

Molly couldn't waste another moment. He darted to the wall, where a building diagramme was pinned, scanning it for the - yes there, the correct elevator up to Ikithon's office. If it was Ikithon, then he would find Caleb on the way, hopefully, and if it was Caleb...

If it was Caleb, then let the whole place come down on them. It wouldn't matter if he got out or not, as long as Ikithon went down with him.

Trying desperately not to think of the worst case scenario, Molly ran out of the security office and towards where he knew Ikithon's office was.

If there would have been stairs, he'd have taken them. Anything to feel more active in his search, but there were none. A precaution that, frankly, Molly found ridiculous and seriously out of code. Not that it mattered anymore. He saw no one, not Caleb, not Ikithon, not even a scant guard. The sirens were long muted, but lights still whirled in every hall and even within the elevator. When it finally dinged, he rushed his way through the empty hall, through the deserted secretary's open office and through the frosted glass double doors to the exclusive study. 

Empty, save for - he searched the room for the camera, for the correct angle...

There. On the floor, lying on their side...a body. Still moving, just a little bit, too far away for him to recognize on sight.

He took a tentative step forward, hand still hovering over his gun, until he saw it. A flash of beautiful, familiar red hair.

Molly broke into a run and was at Caleb's side, praying to any god that would listen for him to be okay, to be alive, to not be beyond hope.

His lover's gun was up against the far wall, Caleb's hand out as if reaching towards it, his other arm flopped heavily over his midsection and beneath him a very slowly widening pool of dark, red blood. For a moment, Molly thought that he was too late, and then, almost imperceptible, he caught the subtle rise and fall of Caleb's chest.

"Caleb," he breathed, afraid to move him, afraid that just touching him would be enough to send him beyond Molly's reach. "Caleb...darling, can you hear me...?"

Tentatively, Molly reached out, gently running a hand across his lover's red locks. "It's gonna be okay...I'm here, you're going to be fine, we're gonna get out of here..."

The soft breaths, no matter how shuddering, were like music to Molly's ears. As he pet at Caleb's hair, his eyes scanned more cautiously for the injury, a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Tentative, he lifted Caleb's hand away to see the red gush of blood and frantically pressed his hands down over the wound. 

Vaguely, he heard a buzzing in his ear, that sounded like words, but he couldn't pay attention to it, not when he saw the faintest flicker of Caleb's eyes and heard a soft, agonizing moan.

He pressed down harder on Caleb's wound, stopping only to rip off fabric from his shirt to tie around Caleb's abdomen. He worked quickly, doing what he knew was a sloppy job, but it would work well enough to get him out of here. It had to.

The moment Caleb's eyes met his, Molly couldn't help but smile down, blinking back tears. "Hello again, darling."

Sharp breaths and a few hissing gasps escaped Caleb's lips as Molly did his work, but as soon as it was over, and Molly had his hand in Caleb's hair again, the other man's eyes cleared from the haze of pain and focused in on Molly. 

"You're here. But.... I - _nng -_ I am...in pain. So...not dead, then..." Caleb paused, catching his breath. "You're...in danger, Mollymauk." Caleb's voice was breathless around his name. "You should...go..."

"Not without you, Caleb," he said firmly, gently stroking his hair and moving his head to his lap. "Either we leave together or not at all."

"Don't die...for me..." Caleb managed. "I am not worth it."

Molly shook his head and smiled softly at him. "Caleb, I was already prepared to do just that before you knocked me out. No changing my mind about that."

As far as he was concerned, Caleb was worth everything. 

Maybe in the beginning, it had been an act on both their parts. A trap to gain information and trust. But it was real now, had been real to Molly for some time, and if the night before hadn't convinced Caleb he was worth it...

"When we get out of here, I'm going to show you just how much you're worth," he said, leaning down to kiss Caleb's forehead.

"I tried...to save you..." 

Molly still felt Caleb push up into the kiss, if only just, and then, he felt a hand, shaky and slippery with blood, rest on his arm. 

"You shouldn't have....to die...for me...For my...mis-mistak-" Caleb cut off, coughing harsh, flecks of blood dotting his lips. "You can...still m-make it. Go. The bomb...goes off...in ...drei, eh, three...minutes. Only I...know where."

"Three minutes..."

It was a narrow window, but he'd faced tighter odds before. Kissing Caleb's forehead again, he gently moved his head and got up, slowly picking Caleb up into his arms, as mindful of his wound as possible.

"We should get going, then," Molly said, winking at Caleb.

 _"MOLLY YOU FUCKER ANSWER YOUR COM!"_ The voice came through loud and clear as Molly took on Caleb's weight, as he slumped heavily into Molly's side. 

"Tell Yasha to get everyone out. There's three minutes on the bomb and I can't stop it." It was true enough. Caleb's head was lolling on his shoulder as they made for the doorway, and, suddenly, Molly found he was more than grateful for the elevator. 

"-should just leave me." Caleb muttered again. "Get...Ikithon...gone to...the vault..."

"I don't know how much good the vault will do him if the whole building comes down," Molly countered. "Besides, dead or not, he's going to be ruined."

And if Ikithon did survive, somehow, Molly would make it his personal mission to hunt him down and do to him what he'd done to Caleb.

_"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING TO? WHERE ARE YOU?"_

Ah, shit. It was hard to turn off his comm when his arms were full.

"Just working on getting out! You need to alert the Crownsguard to the situation, people need to get away from the area."

At the elevator, he nudged the button, keycard ready in hand and half dragged Caleb into it before laying him down quickly. He groaned with a low pain, but it wasn't something Molly could afford to consider as he scanned the card and pressed the button, sending them on their way. Leaning down to lift Caleb again, while situating his gun in his free hand, just in case, Molly furrowed his brow as he watched Caleb dig two fingers into the wound, red welling up to stain the fabric surrounding it. Caleb cried out, but when he looked up at Molly, his eyes were clear again. 

"Two minutes, ten," he managed. "We will not make it together."

"Together or not at all," Molly repeated firmly. "I didn't come all this way just to leave you behind."

The elevator dinged open, and Molly hauled Caleb up into his arms. Outside, the hallways were deserted. He flung the gun aside and used both hands to hold Caleb upright. 

"Dig...dig your fingers into the wound. I will...adrenaline. Need adrenaline." Caleb muttered. 

"First a way out. We won't make it back the other way in time, c'mon Caleb, there's got to be another way out-"

"Go...left..."

"Left...left, got it." Molly nodded, taking a sharp turn and running down the hall, mindful of Caleb's head and his injuries. He didn't want to dig into the wound, afraid of making it worse, but Caleb did have a point. The adrenaline was necessary to keep him conscious and focused for long enough to get them out of there.

"Left...left, got it." Molly nodded, taking a sharp left and running down the hall, mindful of Caleb's head and his injuries. He didn't want to dig into the wound, afraid of making it worse, but he did have a point. The adrenaline was necessary to keep Caleb conscious and focused for long enough to get them out of there.

"Stay with me, Cay...one more right, and after that?"

Molly tried to keep his voice even and steady, tried to mask the growing panic that they _wouldn't_ get out, that this was it, he'd come so far to save Caleb and wound up losing him instead...

Or worse. They got out and it was too late, Caleb had left him, he was _too late_...

"Straight..." His breathes heaved. "After the right, go straight... _bitte, Molly_..."

"I got you. We're getting out of here, I promise, and you're going to be okay."

If he said it enough times he could make himself believe it. 

Finding a second wind, Molly picked up pace, the thought of one or both of them dying there, motivating him enough to keep moving forward. Dimly, he thought he could make out the sound of sirens.

Molly made the turns as they came, frantic but focused and then, blessedly, if a bit on the nose, he saw the light at the end of the hall. 

Day. 

Safety... almost.

Caleb said something, but it came out garbled and Molly couldn't make heads or tails of it, far more focused on getting there as fast as possible. As they neared the heavy door, he angled himself, protecting Caleb as he slammed into the push handle, jettisoning them outwards at quite the speed. The asphalt under Molly's feet and the air in his face sent him wide eyed and relieved.

Molly let out a whoop of triumph, setting Caleb gently down on the ground and grinning like a madman. "We made it! I told you we would, there was no way I was leaving you...behind..."

The smile fell away as Molly looked down at Caleb, really _looked_ at him. His skin was ashen, his breathing labored, there was blood everywhere...so much blood, too much.

If he didn't get help soon, Caleb....Caleb would...

No. No, he refused to let that happen, he decided, looking around wildly and calling for help.

There wasn't a soul around. 

"Molly," Caleb's hand batted at him. "Molly..."

Molly shook his head, blinking rapidly and calling for help again. "It's fine, you're going to be fine..."

A terrible sound met his ears and he looked back down and realized that Caleb had tried to laugh. Blood flecked at his lips. "I am... _ahh_...not going to make it. Bitte...do a... dying man a...favour. Kiss me, Molly."

Molly choked back a sob, shaking his head as the tears he'd tried to blink back finally fell. "You're going to be fine...you're going to make it, and...and we're going to get out of this wretched business and..."

His words sounded hollow, desperate and false. Kissing Caleb...if he didn't do that, and he lost him now, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"...okay, Caleb. Okay."

Wiping once at his eyes, Molly leaned down, kissing Caleb with all the desperation and love he felt, willing the man to hold on, to live, so he could kiss him again and again.

For a while, Caleb kissed him back weak, but eager, and then slowly he began to go slack in Molly's arms. 

Molly pulled away. "Caleb! Caleb, no, no, oh God-" In his arms, Caleb's body lolled, still. 

And then, Cerberus exploded behind them.

There was a ringing in Molly's ears, smoke filling the air,  debris flying...

And then something hit Molly in the back of the head, with a loud cracking noise. His vision went white, pain bloomed in his skull, and he collapsed on top of Caleb.

* * *

The first thing Molly felt when he woke up was pain. Dull, throbbing pain that bunched up in a knot at the base of his neck. He shifted, felt the constricting confines of blankets and an iv? 

His eyes blinked open slowly and the harsh, brutal light of stark white LED's filled his vision.

He quickly shut them again, trying to block out the harsh bright light. What the hell had he been doing? 

The memories quickly came back to him. The bomb. The bullet. _Caleb_.

His eyes shot open, Molly no longer caring about the pain he was in. He needed to get up, he needed to find out if...if Caleb...

He needed to find Caleb.

Immediately, he began to struggle against the blankets when two large hands entered his vision landing on his shoulders, followed by the familiar, soothing face of Yasha Nydoorin. She was smeared with ashes, but otherwise, looked fine. 

"Calm down, Molly. Calm down, you don't want to dislodge your iv, okay?"

Yasha...Yasha had made it out. Immediately, a wave of guilt and shame washed over him. She was his best friend, and he'd spared no thought to her or her safety...

He tried to say her name, say anything, but all that came out was a croaking sound.

"If you lay there, I'll get you water, okay?" she said, waiting for him to acknowledge her before moving off. "You're lucky I found you."

"C...cay...."

His voice was rough and hard to hear, and he couldn't get out more before breaking out into a coughing fit.

"Is that his name? Cay?" Yasha asked him, tilting his head and putting a cup to his lips with the other.

He slowly drank the water, the cool water burning a bit at first. He nodded weakly.

"Caleb," he breathed, voice barely above a whisper. "Is he...what..."

"He fine." She was eyeing him carefully. "He lost a lot of blood, but he's stable. Conscious even. Beau's interrogating him right now. Molly what did you-"

Molly shook his head, the relief that Caleb was _alive_ , he'd be okay overwhelming him.

"Good....good, he's okay...Yasha, he was my contact, he turned, he..."

It was hard to keep the affection from creeping into his voice. But it was already obvious on her face that she could see through him. "Oh Molly. Does he...does he feel the same? Do you know?" 

She put her hand on his, patting it in sympathy.

"I think...I hope...not sure."

He thought he did. The man had turned against his entire organization, has literally blown up his whole life, after being with Molly.

"If he hurts you, I will kill him. What were you thinking?" She asked, shaking her head. "Molly we almost lost you. I can't lose you. Not after what happened to Zuala."

Molly winced. Fuck, he hadn't been thinking at all, had he.

"It...just sort of happened. I'm sorry, Yash."

He tried to move his arm, to beckon her in for a hug, only for the IV to stop him. He glared at the device before turning back to Yasha. 

"You okay?" 

"I'm fine now that you're fine." She leaned over him, her hard look softening and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "You are what matters."

"You got out okay? No injuries? What about the others?"

"There were a few casualties. All civilians were evacuated. A few guards didn't make it out. They're still looking for Ikithon." She shifted back into her seat by his bed. "Did you see him? Do you know anything that can help? Molly, if he's in the wind…"

He frowned at the mention of casualties, of guards who didn't make it out. He wondered if the man he'd shot had gotten away, or if Molly had condemned him to death one way or another.

"The vault. Caleb said he was going to the vault, I don't know if that's below the building or somewhere though."

"Well it will help." She stood, going to the door, and knocked in a pattern. "Beau said he hasn't been super talkative." 

When the door opened, she muttered the information through to the person behind and then went back to the chair. 

"In fact, he hasn't said much of anything at all."

"Can I see him? Maybe he'll say more if I'm asking the questions?"

He hated the idea of interrogating Caleb. But it was still his job to stop Ikithon, and only Caleb really knew where he'd gone.

"I can ask if-" 

But Yasha was cut off by a sharp rap on the door which opened to reveal Beau, in full uniform, glaring at Molly. 

"Tealeaf."

Ah, Beau. He'd been expecting her. He shot a flashy grin to her, inclining his head. "Lionett."

"You're in a _fuckload_ of trouble." There was no room in her tone to broker argument. "So listen up and listen good." She strode to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If I get you and this Agent Ermendrud into a room together, you think you can get some information out of him?"

 _His name is Caleb_ , he wanted to say, but that wasn't his information to share. 

"I can certainly try," he said instead, face and voice neutral.

"Alright then. Sit tight." 

She disappeared behind the door again. A few minutes later, she returned, another agent behind her wheeling Caleb into the room. 

Molly had to stifle a laugh upon realizing that he'd been chained to the chair, despite the fact the it would obviously have been agonizing to walk. 

Molly was almost giddy with relief to see him, pallid and gaunt looking though he was. 

"Agent Ermendrud, you already know Lucien."

"Ja." Was Caleb's single, breathless reply.

"Bren," he said with a nod before turning to Beau. "Is the chain really necessary?"

She only gave him an exaggerated brow. 

"I have already assured them that, would that I could, I still would not be going anywhere. But thank you for your attempt." 

Caleb's voice was cold, almost emotionless. Business like, but his gaze was unwaveringly focused on Molly.

"I just don't see how they're necessary, given your condition. What do they expect you to do, outwheel us?" He shot Beau a look before turning his full attention back to Caleb, taking him in.

There was still a slight grey pallour to his skin, his face thin and gaunt, bags under his eyes.

He was, without a doubt, the most beautiful person Molly had ever seen.

"It is fine." Caleb said again, voice thin  "I hear that you have questions for me." 

Molly just caught Beau's eyeroll, watched her mouth out _most he's said all day, fucking Molly_ in the background before plopping into a chair behind Caleb.

"You think you could give us some privacy?" He glanced over at Beau again.

"No. I don't think I can." Beau said straight, before sighing. "Yasha stays." She stood, exaggeratedly beleaguered, and left the room, but not before giving Molly a knowing look, the sort that indicated to him that, regardless of her presence, she'd be watching and listening all the same.

Molly just rolled his eyes at her. "Aye aye, captain," he said as he left, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Gods, she can be unpleasant."

He glanced over at Yasha before looking back at Caleb. "Well...I suppose the thing we need to know is where Ikithon's gone. And I suppose if there's any other agents in the field who may still be an issue."

He'd do his job. He'd ask the questions that they needed to know the answers to, and then, gods willing, he could ask the questions he wanted to.

"I told you already that he went to the vault." Caleb said. "I do not know that he made it out, only that there was information there that he wanted before he left." 

"You mean after he shot you," Molly pressed. 

Caleb shifted, and glanced uncomfortably at Yasha. 

"Ja. After that."

"Where is the vault? You made it sound like it was under the building."

He looked at Yasha, who merely nodded at him and looked at a spot on the opposite wall.

"....are you okay?"

"It is on a lower floor, yes. Access restricted." His gaze followed Yasha, who was pointedly trying to look disinterested. "I will be fine."

It was a pitifully bland answer to Molly's fierce concern.

"C...Bren. You were shot, you lost a lot of blood. You nearly _died_. Are you sure you're alright?"

He knew it was Yasha's presence in the room that was likely the cause for these stilted answers, but it still stung. Molly sighed, slumping back in his bed.

"....what information did he need to get out of the vault, and how do we get in?"

"It is hopefully still accessible. There are two others who know of it. My hope is that Ikithon is trapped within. Perhaps he will suffocate. It would be too kind a death. The other two are Astrid Bergmann and Eodwulf Schiller. Codenames Gift and Scharf. The information regards plans for buyout contracts regarding the war with Xhorhaas. That's is all."

Caleb took a deep breath, though it rattled, and fell silent.

The codenames did ring a bell. They were supposed to be ruthless and efficient, on the same level of skill as Bren. As Caleb.

"Thank you. If you could give us maybe some sort of idea where in the building the vault is located..."

"Provided a layout of the building, yes, I can do this."

Yasha got up suddenly, making a beeline for the door. "I can go and get floor plans and any information we have about Gift and Scharf." She stared at Molly, a hard look that didn't seem entirely genuine in her eyes, before turning to the other man, the one Molly called Caleb. "There are guards posted at the door. Don't try anything."

With that, she swept out of the room, locking the door behind her with a click.

"Your friend is very large," Caleb said, voice oddly small now, in the open echoing space of the medical room.

Molly nodded. "She's a real force of nature," he responded with a chuckle, before going quiet, staring at Caleb again. "How are you though, really."

"Nothing I have not experienced before. It is you who should be worried. Two hard knocks on the head, both in the same day, will do far more damage than a few pints lost blood." The quality of Caleb's tone changed, almost imperceptibly, but Molly could see the softening of the lines on his face.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've taken a blow to the noggin." Molly smiled at Caleb, eyes soft and fond. "Though I'll be honest, I'd prefer to avoid a third knock. My memories are sort of fuzzy at the moment."

"Oh?" Caleb asked. "What are you having trouble recalling, may I ask?"

"Well. I remember somebody asking to kiss me, but I can't recall if that actually happened or not..."

He smirked and waggled his eyebrows a bit at Caleb. In truth, the blanks in his memory were gaps on his way to security, fleeing security, arriving at the building...they were fleeting and inconsistent, which was troubling, but Caleb didn't need to know that and worry about something he couldn't fix. 

Right now the important thing was to make him smile, Molly decided.

To his intense satisfaction, the corner of Caleb's mouth twitched upwards. "I don't remember anyone _asking_ any such thing of you. Perhaps, it is a fantasy, created to fill the gap." 

 _Asking_ . Not _demanding_ , for it had been a demand, Molly supposed.

"Perhaps it was. Still, I swear I remember _somebody_ wanting to kiss me..."

Caleb's eye darted around the room, surreptitiously, as if looking for something. "Perhaps," he said eventually. "Perhaps."

Fuck. It hadn't even occurred to him that the room could be bugged or monitored. He'd chalk it up to the blows to the head if asked, and not any sort of desire to kiss Caleb now, unafraid of the consequences. 

"Well. Then perhaps when all of this is over, that somebody will get what they wanted."

"May we all get some measure of what we want," Caleb replied. "I have given you the information you desired," he spoke a little more loudly, clearly. "I want to speak with you now, Agent Lionett. Make a bargain." They waited. "I know that you can hear me."

There was another moment of silence that seemed to stretch on forever, eventually broken by the click of the door unlocking as Beau walked in, an unimpressed look on her face. 

"What do you want, Ermendrud."

"I want you to leak that I am dead," he said without hesitation. "That Ikithon killed me. I died here of blood loss, or something. Whatever you must do.  I do not wish to trouble you or your agency anymore. I want to make a little home somewhere with books and a cat and never leave. That is what I want. I will give you anything on Ikithon or his others, if that can be assured me."

Beau looked unimpressed. "You want out. After everything you and your people have done, you just expect us to let you walk free, just like that."

"He is offering us information," Molly pipped up. "It sounds like a good deal to me."

"I hope he is dead.," Caleb began, ignoring Molly's protests. "I hope they are all dead. And, if they are not, you are free to use me as bait to capture them, how is that for an offer?" Caleb sat back as comfortably as could be possibly in the wheelchair. "I saved your Agent's life. And give up the lives of others, and you have not promised me anything by way of return. I am being generous, am I not?"

"....dammit," Beau muttered, running a hand across her face. "Dammit, I hate that you're right. Fuck, okay, fine. Let me talk to my superiors, see what we can arrange."

"Danke." Caleb inclined his head. "It is much appreciated."

"Yeah, yeah..." She glared at Molly, who merely smiled at her. "You and I are having a _long_ talk later."

"Right. Yep. Saw that coming." Molly grinned wickedly as she left the room.  "Well, that went well." 

"Ja, not so bad." Caleb shrugged, noncommittal. "They may still imprison me. And they would not be wrong to do it. "

"Mmm, maybe. But then they'd have to admit that what they do was a crime, too, and I doubt they're keen to do that, so."

"So, what?"  Caleb asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Is that so?" Caleb seemed bemused. "Perhaps you can show me where to go, then?"

"Mister Caleb, I would love nothing more."

It was then that Caleb winced hard and Molly had only a half a second to realize what he'd done before Caleb was waving him off. "It's fine. It's fine. They'd find out eventually anyways."

"Still...fuck, I'm sorry. I forgot, I'm an idiot." Molly winced, rubbing absentmindedly at the back of his head. "I mean, you _just_ called for Lionett in here, I should have thought..."

Maybe his head was more scrambled than he thought, if he could forget something that happened minutes earlier.

"You are not well, bitte, do not worry about me." Caleb looked back up at the camera, and if Molly had been looking carefully, he would have seen the intent before he heard the follow through. "Your Mollymauk is not doing so well. Perhaps you should have a doctor come in and look at him, Lionett. It would not do for me to have saved him, and he to have saved me, only for your organization to let him die now from negligence."

Molly frowned, struggling to understand why what Caleb was saying was important, before realizing.  Beau didn't know he'd told Caleb his real name. 

"Well then." He shrugged a little and smiled at Caleb. "You have quite the flair for drama. I don't know if I'd say I'm close to dying, but still."

His head hurt. Not enough to truly worry him, nor enough for him to say anything, but it was now clear he wasn't as fine as he'd initially thought.

"I would know how well you are and are not doing. It was me who knocked you on the head in the first place. And then, I must assume you were hit by flying debris. The force of that impact is strong enough to herald a major concussion, Molly. Do let your people take care of you. I am not your concern anymore."

For a moment, Molly wondered what everything outside, listening in must think. Sharing names, the indication that they'd been in confidence with one another...

It was a good thing he was planning on taking a break from the business, he decided. Beau would probably murder him otherwise. 

"You're always going to be my concern, Cay." He smiled and winked at Caleb, appreciating the slight blush that crept up on his face. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

"It may not be your choice, liebling." Caleb's eyes crinkled with the affectionate term, but he said nothing else and the door opened once more, this time to reveal both Beauregard and Yasha.

Molly waved at Yasha. "Hello again! Any luck with those blueprints?"

Without finesse, they were thrust in Caleb's lap. "Point." Yasha said, glaring at Molly the entire time while Beau watched as Caleb pointed out the path on the papers.

Molly just smiled at her, blinking a few times. The lights were starting to bother him again.

"Can we maybe turn the lights down a little bit? They're sort of bright..." he frowned, looking up at the lights and away from Yasha and Beau and Caleb. "No, don't turn them up..."

Had they gotten brighter? He blinked a few more times, rubbing at his eyes.

Immediately after he had the thought, the lights dimmed. "Dude," he heard Beauregard say. "A long talk. A _long_ talk."

"Long talk, yeah...long talk."

The room seemed to get darker and he blinked slowly. Once. Twice. Maybe he could keep his eyes closed for the talk.

"Mollymauk? He heard his name faintly, as if from far away, caressed by Caleb's soothing accent. "Mollymauk!"

"Mmm..."

He just needed a quick nap. A lot had happened over the last 20 minutes or so, and he wanted to be fresh when Beau chewed him out.

Slowly, his mind faded black once more, his last conscious thoughts of Caleb's lovely, pale face.

He wasn't sure how long he was out for, swimming in the darkness. His head didn't hurt too much here, it wasn't bright...but there was no Caleb.

Eventually, he woke up again, the sound of muffled voices and beeping machines welcoming him back.

A soft hand was stroking his forehead. "Hallo, there, welcome back."

"Hey...how long was I out for?" Molly nuzzled into Caleb's hand, closing his eyes once more. The room was still bright, albeit not as bad as it had been before, and he didn't want to risk overdoing himself just after coming back.

"A day," came the solemn response, but the caress remained tender. "I am glad you are awake."

"A day....damn." he frowned a little. "It felt shorter. What did I miss?"

"You will find that when you receive your talking to, you will not have much explaining to do. You can thank me for that later."  As Molly hazarded to open his eyes again, he could see that Caleb was no longer cuffed to the chair. Caleb smiled. "Ja, that is gone too," he said before continuing. "They found Ikithon. He's dead. Thank you, Molly. You cannot know how much you have done for me."

"He's dead?"

That...that was amazing news. Molly blinked a few times and slowly smiled at Caleb. "What happened? Tell me everything I missed."

"There is not much to tell. He was hit by a falling beam on his way out and crushed to death. Somehow, I am disappointed." Caleb's hand fell away from a moment. "But it is over, and I will not dwell overlong on it."

Huh. "That feels...too easy a death," Molly said, sitting up. "He deserved worse than death by falling beam, but at least he's gone." He reached out to take Caleb's hand again, giving it a squeeze. "And you? Are you okay?"

"I will be fine. Your people are treating me well. I am here, alone, with you, ja? So that's good," but Caleb's smile did not reach his eyes, though he met the press of Molly's hand with his own.

Molly's frown deepened. "What aren't you telling me, Cay?"

"Well," Caleb didn't look him in the eyes. "I have to go away, you know. Because of the others. I have brokered myself a deal, and I'm being moved within a day, so I am told. I will likely not see you again, Mollymauk. This is...goodbye."

Molly just stared at him, quietly absorbing this information, before shaking his head. "No. ABSOLUTELY not, this isn't...this can't be goodbye. Not after everything!"

It was unacceptable. To go through all this, for both of them to nearly die, only for _this_ to be goodbye....he refused to let this be it. He refused.

There had to be something...maybe Molly could talk to Beau, find some way to go with him, or something...

"Hey, hey, calm down. I don't want you blacking out on me." Caleb took Molly's face in his hands and leaned their foreheads together. "I want you to know that you have changed me. That I am richer for having known you. I am out! I am free, because of you. I no longer feel trapped. I want this... this new start. I need it. And I will think of you," he swallowed heavily, pushing his hands through Molly's hair and holding him closer. "I will think of you every day, Molly, and every day after, and know that I have this chance because of you."

"Caleb..."

There was so much he wanted to say. How important and vital to Molly's life Caleb had become in a relatively short period of time. How happy he was that he'd gotten out, that he had a second chance, and how badly he wanted to be a part of that new life. How much Molly wanted to join him, to spend time getting to know him as he really was, away from this horrible business.

Instead, Molly leaned forward and kissed him.

It was a better kiss by far when Caleb wasn't bleeding out and blacking out in the process. Fiercely, passionately, Caleb kissed him back, only pulling away to hiss as he overextended himself, aggravating his wound. But before Molly could get out a word, Caleb was kissing him again, nipping a little at his lower lip.

Molly groaned and twisted in the hospital bed, trying to wrap an arm around Caleb to pull him closer. Neither of them was in the best position for this, but if this was to be their last time, Molly refused to make it anything but memorable.

Caleb met him, despite the awkward angle, reaching out the rest of the way to complete the touch, though they couldn't come together the way they wanted to. The space between them was far, but it would soon be farther yet, and so Molly chose to ignore it, focusing instead on the feel of Caleb's hand  between his fingers, and the softness of his lips.

He brought a hand up to stroke at Caleb's face, running his fingers along his cheek, wanting to savor this last moment and memorize every detail. The way his skin felt, the way his lips felt pressed against his, the soft brush of his hair against Molly's forehead.

When Caleb finally pulled away - and it was Caleb who pulled away - he looked into Mollymauk's face with clear eyes and an unwavering jaw. "Thank you. Thank you for everything." He took a breath, and it seemed like there was something meant to follow, but nothing did, and he only sat in silence, still holding Molly's hand.

Molly nodded wordlessly. What else was there to say?

That he didn't want Caleb to leave? That he loved him? That he would leave this business in a heartbeat to be with him?

It wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't fix anything. 

So Molly just held Caleb's hand, squeezing it every so often, resting his head against his shoulder.

Softly, ever so softly, Caleb managed to press a kiss to Molly's temple. "Ich liebe dich," he whispered. "Ich liebe dich."

His heart skipped a beat. His Zemnian was rudimentary at best, picked up from assorted missions, but the tone of his voice...he knew exactly what had been said.

Molly swallowed heavily, fighting back tears. "I love you too, Caleb," he whispered softly, voice thick.

A sharp intake of breath and the stiffening of Caleb beside him told Molly everything he needed to know. 

"I-"

"I don't want you to go," he continued. "I know you have to, and you're going to have an amazing life, and you're free, but...I wish you could stay. I wish I could go with you."

"I could never make you."

"I _want_ to, though."

He sighed and looked Caleb in the eyes,  noting how tired he looked. How bright the blue of his eyes was. 

"I'm tired, Caleb. Tired of all the deception and lies and killing, all the chances for peace and happiness this life takes. You were...you _are_ the first bright spot I've seen in a long time. I love you, and I don't want to lose you."

"But your life here...your friends...they..." Caleb was shaking his head. "They _love_ you. They love you so much. You cannot leave them. I would not...I would not want you to be unhappy, and you...you would be unhappy. You would be. Trust me, when I say it. You are...vibrant and full of life, and I just want to sit quietly and mind my own business. I believe you when you say what you do. I do. But living the life I will live...it is not peace or happiness, it is an out. And that is all. And I do not wish unhappiness on you. Not ever, for you, Mollymauk, are the first person in many, many years, to remind me that happiness is important. I won't snuff your light for my own selfish desire."

"I hate how much sense you're making," Molly said with a wet sounding chuckle. "I just wish...I don't really know. I just want to have you in my life, in one way or another."

"I will keep you here," Caleb took Molly's hand pressing it to his own chest, where his heart was beating soundly. "Always."

Molly nodded and repeated the gesture, placing Caleb's hand over his heart. "It's yours. Wherever you go, whatever happens now, it's always gonna be yours."

"Alright lovebirds break it up!" Beau's voice came from behind them. "Widogast, we've got things to take care of, and Molly needs to recuperate."

Reluctantly, Molly and Caleb pulled apart, Molly nodding at Beau before looking back at the man who held his heart. "I'll see you before you leave, right?"

Caleb's smile was thin, his eyes watery and sad. "Goodbye Mollymauk. I pray we may we never meet again, for your safety."

That was a no, then. Molly sniffled once, giving Caleb a sad smile. "Goodbye, Caleb. I hope you have an amazing life...and pet that cat for me?"

"I will." Shakily, and much to Molly's surprise, Caleb stood, holding his side and turned for the door. "I am ready."

Beau nodded. "Yasha's waiting for you, she'll take care of things."

Molly waited. He hoped. He held his breath. But Caleb didn't turn back before disappearing beyond the threshold of the door, leaving Beau, looking down on him with a grim expression. 

"You fucked up."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Molly muttered, slumping back in the bed, not meeting Beau's eyes.

"You told him your name. You _slept_ with him." Beau shook her head and dropped into the chair. "Fuck, Molls."

"I was _supposed_ to sleep with him!" Molly shot back. "You told me to get information about Cerberus by any means necessary. The rest...fuck, Beau, you think I meant to fall in love with the enemy? It just happened!"

He slumped in the bed, closing his eyes.

"It just...it happened. And I don't regret it. Not one bit."

"Yeah, yeah I know. Fuck, do I know. I'm supposed to give you the spiel about how you have other options, you know, like, making them think they slept with you, drugs, whatever...but I don't want to. You slept with him, it got personal, you made a mistake. That's what the brass will want to hear. And they'll slap you with a discharge if you're lucky, and a commendation if you're not. Fuck, Molly. He could have killed you. You're a seasoned agent, acting like a fucking rookie." She shook her head, holding her forehead in her hands. "You really do fucking love him, don't you?"

His smile was lopsided and harsh. "Yeah, I think I do. Caleb...he was worth it. He was worth everything."

"Then what the fuck are you still doing here? Get outta here, Molly."

"I..what?"

He blinked, confused. "I don't understand."

"I haven't told anyone anything." Beau dropped the bombshell. "Brass is breathing down my neck about what's going on, but I haven't said a word.  Everyone's kept it quiet. Even Jester. We'll just say you died. And you can go be happy. Fucking, gods, do I want you to be happy, Molly."

"I..." 

It felt too good to be true. Like it was a dream, or a trap.

"....but what about you all? Jester, Yasha..."

Gods, Yasha. He couldn't just walk out of his life without knowing he could see her again. He loved Caleb. He'd be happy, he thought, with just him, a quiet life away from all of this.

But Caleb was also right. He had friends. Family. He couldn't take this without some kind of way to see Yasha still.

"Well, she's taking Caleb to his new home, so..."

"So I can still see her? And...and you'd let the others know, if they happened to be around?"

"It'll be a group effort, why the fuck not? Now," Beau says. "I'm going to casually undo this iv and gingerly help your sorry ass back to your man, sound good?"

"Only if you promise me something." Molly grinned at her, eyes bright, heart pounding in his chest at all the possibilities the future suddenly held. "Get your shit together and ask Yasha out."

"I can literally call up Dairon right now, so help me-"

"I know, I know! Just think about it! You'd be good together if one of you would just make a move."

"Alright, lets get you out of here, already."

He nodded, letting her help him get unhooked from the hospital equipment. "Beau, thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it. Like. Literally." Her voice was stern but she smiled. "Seriously, though, dude. I'm glad. You deserve better than this shitty deal we've got in life."

Once he was standing, he pulled Beau  into a quick, tight hug.

She patted his back awkwardly for a moment before hugging him back, a hair too tight. "I'm gonna miss you, asshole."

"You better come visit me, obnoxious one."

He grinned a little as he pulled away. "Seriously, though, I may be dead but you can come check up on me to make sure I'm not _actually_ dead."

"I've got my eyes in the skies, don't worry, okay?" He recognized real joy in her voice as she spoke. "Just uh...don't go having outdoor sex. Might get awkward."

"Got it, no beach sex." He laughed, giving her one last squeeze. "But seriously, don't be a stranger?"

"I won't. Be safe, okay? Now let's get you back to Caleb before he decides to rationalize how he _doesn't_ suddenly love you in some attempt to keep from missing you too much. I feel like that's something a Zemnian spy would probably do."

He snorted and nodded. "Yeah, that does sound very Zemnian. Okay. Let's go."

Gods, he was _out_ . He was out of this godsforsaken life, he was _free_ , he still had his friends, he'd have Caleb...life felt, for the first time in ages, like it was full of possibilities. Full of hope.

They walked shoulder to shoulder out into the atrium of the medical wing, just in time for Molly to see Yasha leading Molly into an elevator. "Wait!" he called out, and a hand shot through the doorway, holding it open.

With one last grin at Beau, he pushed his way into the elevator. "Room for one more?"

Caleb's eyes were too, too blue as he stared, mouth agape at Molly, looking hopeful, in the doorway. 

"What are you doing? Don't...don't throw everything away for me."

"Oh, didn't you hear? Agent Nonagon passed away. Died in that explosion." He winked at Yasha, who merely shook her head, expression fond. "And anyone who says otherwise is going to keep quiet and remember to visit and call, just to make sure."

Yasha smiled and stepped aside, giving Molly just enough space to step through. Her expression said more than words could have. And then, they were face to face once more, Caleb dressed in his same suit, though it was looking far the worse for wear, and the bowtie was missing. 

"Mollymauk..." he said in disbelief.

 "Hi." All he could do was grin at Caleb, holding his hand out to him.

Shakily, Caleb reached back, but his grip was stronger than it looked. "Hallo."

Molly squeezed his hand and leaned down, kissing Caleb's forehead gently. 

They'd both gotten out. They were both free, and they'd face this new, terrifying, excited future together. All he could do was grin like the fool he was, holding his love's hand, imagining the possibilities.

"To die," Caleb said, as if by wrote, before lifting Molly's knuckle to his lips, pressing a kiss there gently. "Shall be an awfully big adventure."

"Death is but the first step in the next great journey," he responded in turn, resting his forehead against Caleb's. "I'm glad I get to take that journey with you."

"Then let's not waste any time getting there." 

Yasha's hand must have moved, because the elevator door closed behind them and with a shudder it began to move them through the building, speeding them on their way. 

"Oh, and Molly?" Yasha said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yes, Yasha, dear?" He glanced over at her, the joy clear on his face. "Don't think you can get out of visiting because I'm dead, I expect to see you all the time!"

"You will, you will Molly, it's just well, I'm supposed to tell you to, ah, take the car."

 "The car _survived_?"

"Ah, no. No, this is, well...you should see for yourself."  The elevator opened to the garage, and there, waiting for them, was a beautiful silver Ghibli Maserati. "Pumat was already working on it. It's his going away gift."

He blinked, staring at the car. It was...there were no words. Molly turned back to Yasha, eyes wide. "This...this is _mine_?"

Gods, Pumat...bless that man, he knew his stuff. 

"I....am going to owe Pumat so many thank you fruit baskets, delivered anonymously."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate them all. Here," she pushed forward two passports and a manila envelope. "The information is in there. I love you. Be happy."

"I'll call you as soon as it's safe, I promise." He smiled and let go of Caleb's hand to hug Yasha tight. He knew he would see her again, just not when, and that uncertainty ached, even if it was temporary. 

"Thank you, Yash. I love you."

"Of course." If she had tears in her eyes, neither of them acknowledged it.

"You ready, Caleb?" 

"Ja, I am ready." 

And together, they stepped from the elevator and into the beginning of a new life. 


End file.
